Greece climbs international corruption index after drop

Greece’s performance in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index worsened last year with the country rising to 69th place out of 167 countries, compared to 58th the year before.

The annual index, whose findings were made public this week, ranks countries from 0 to 100 (where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 very transparent). The least corrupt country in the survey was Denmark, with 90 points, and the most corrupt Somalia, with just 10 points.

The vice president of TI’s Greek office, Angelos Syrigos, called on political parties to offer specific ideas such as boosting transparency in appointment of top judges.

“It is a major challenge for our country to do what is necessary to improve our standing,” he said.

One problem Syrigos highlighted is the return of “petty corruption,” noting that Greeks have again started giving under-the-table payments to cut through red tape, a practice that had ebbed at the peak of the crisis.